Spade and shovel.



A. T. LOFTSGAARDEN.

SPADE AND SHOVEL.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 12, 1912.

Patented Dec. 10, 1912.

wi fweooeo COLUMBIA FLA ALBERT TL LOF'ISGAARDEN, 0F POWELL, WYOMING.

SPADE AND SHOVEL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 19,1912.

Application filed March 12, 1912. Serial No. 683,385.

To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, ALBERT T. LOFTSGAAR- DEN, citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Powell, in the county of Park and State of Wyoming,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Spades and Shovels,of which the following is a specification.

This invention has relation to spades and shovels, the object being toprovide the blade of the spade or shovel with curled shoulders adaptedto afford ample foot rest for a user with a view of preventing damage tothe shoe of the user.

While the invention is illustrated as applied to a spade, it may be usedupon shovels of any description, as for instance irrigating shovels orother shovels adapted to be used for1 the purpose of handling or turningthe s01 The material from which the blade is formed is turned over atthe shoulders and is welded to the body portion of the blade, wherebythe upper portion of the blade is stiifened, also the corners of theshoulders are ehainfered or curved so that projecting points or sharpedges are removed at the shoulders of the blade and therefore should thefoot of a user slip, there is no liability of damage to the boot or shoein consequence of coming in contact with the sharpened corners of theedges. The blade is provided with a leaf which in part constitutes aferrule for the handles of the spade and a leaf is welded to the upperportion of the blade and constitutes the remainder of the said ferrule.The presence of the last mentioned leaf upon the blade together with thesecuring means (prefercbly welded) also serves to strengthen the upperintermediate portion of the blade.

In the drawings :Figure 1 is a side elevation of a spade provided withthe curled shoulders; Fig. 2 is-a longitudinal sectional View of thesame cut on the line 22 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional viewof the same out on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a sectional view ofthe same cut on the line tt of Fig. 1; Fig. 5 includes side views of theblanks from which the spade is formed.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the followingdescription and indicated in all the views of the accompanying drawingby the same reference characters.

As illustrated in the accompanying drawing the blade 1 is in spatulaform and may be pointed. or square at its work engaging end, as desired.This blade is concaved centrally or longitudinally in the usual manner.From the upper edge of the blade and midway between its side edges aleaf 2 is formed of the same material of which the said blade isconstituted. This leaf is also concaved and serves as a part of aferrule to which the handle of the spade is attached and upon which theblade is mounted. Beyond the side edges of the leaf 2 the blade 1 isprovided with the usual shoulders 3. The material of which the blade 1is composed is curled or bent back at the shoulders 3 against theforward portion of the blade and welded. These curls or bent backportions are indicated at 4. The edges of the curled portions 4 arepreferably welded to the face of the blade and therefore the thicknessof material at the upper portions of the blade 1 where the curls 4 arejoined with the same serve to strengthen the blade.

After the curls 4 have been formed as indicated the corner portions ofthe blade together with the ends of the curled portions are rounded offas at 5. A leaf 6 of sheet metal is located above the leaf 2 and thisleaf is concaved longitudinally and constitutes a part of the ferrule towhich the handle of the blade is attached. At the lower end of the leaf6 a head portion 8 is left and this portion is welded to the forwardface of the balde 1 at the upper portion thereof. The inner end edges ofthe curled portions 4 are secured by welding or otherwise to the upperside edges of the head portion 8. The head 8 serves to reinforce andstrengthen the blade 1 in a direction transversely of its length andcooperates with the end portions of the curls 4 in adding additionalmaterial to the upper portion of the blade and constitutes a continuousreinforcement at the upper part thereof. The handle of the blade isindicated at 9. This handle may be of any desired form and its end isinserted between the leaves 2 and 6. Rivets 10 or other suitablesecuring devices are passed transversely through the said leaves and theportion of the handle which is received between them. Therefore it willbe seen that the spade or shovel is provided at its shoulders withdoubled thicknesses of material to afford a foot rest for a user. Thedoubling of the material not only strengthens the blade but alsoincreases the surface of the tread against which the operator may pressthe instep of his foot when the spade is in use. Ifat any time theshoulders should in cline so that the foot would slip toward the outerend thereof and move ofi of the end of the shoulders in consequence ofdownward pressure the chamfered corners 5 will afiord no obstruction andconsequently the footwear of the user will not be damaged.

While the foregoing description and accompanying drawing set forth thepreferred embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood thatvarious changes in the details of construction, arrangement andproportions of the parts may be made within the scope of the inventionas defined by the appended claim.

By reference to Fig. 4 of the drawings, it will be seen that the curledportions 4 are smoothly joined with the upper part of the blade and thatno shoulders are formed at the lines where the said curls join with theblade. As hereinbefore stated these curls are welded directly to theblade and consequently when the blade is used for handling or turningthe soil there are no obstructions at the upper edge of the blade tocatch and retain the soil. If desired the ends of the curls may beclosed to exclude all dirt.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

A spade or the like comprising a blade formed from sheet metal andhaving at its upper edge an integral leaf, another leaf having a headapplied to the front face of the blade, a handle secured between theupper end portions of said leaves, the-material at the upper portion ofthe blade and at the opposite sides of the integral leaf being curledback upon the body of the blade and secured thereto the inner edges ofsaid curled back portions fitting against and se. cured to the oppositeside edges of the head of the applied leaf.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ALBERT T. LOFTSGAARDEN.

WVitnesses:

C. M. JEssUrs, J. R. BAESY.

Copies of this patent may lie-obtained for five cents each, byaddressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

